Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women is currently implementing a regional project on “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” Phase III (WEESC III) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The project has started in September 2024 and will last till August 2026. The first phase of the project took place during 2018-2020, followed by the second phase during 2021-2024. The overarching goal of the project is to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in the South Caucasus countries, including Azerbaijan are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. Despite notable advancements, Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) remains a significant challenge in the South Caucasus. Factors such as low female participation in formal employment, gender wage disparities, unequal political engagement, and women bearing disproportionate responsibility for caregiving all contribute to limited access to financial services for women and hinder their economic empowerment. Additionally, pervasive gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices persist across all three countries, further impeding progress in WEE.

The project aims women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, are able to use skills, economic opportunities, relevant information, network and support to become farmers/entrepreneurs or to join the formal labour sector in the South Caucasus countries.  The project is planning to achieve this through an increased understanding of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) of private sector and institutionalize measures that benefit women, specifically in rural areas among others. With this purpose the activities will be caried out in Azerbaijan, focusing on providing technical support to companies to raise awareness of and adopt the UN Women/UN Global Compact WEPs. The aim is to implement gender-responsive corporate policies and practices that enhance women’s access to decent work and promote the inclusion of more women-owned and collective enterprises in supply chains. This technical support will equip private companies with tools to develop and implement gender-responsive corporate policies and practices that increase women’s access to decent work. Target companies will include medium- and large-sized businesses operating in or with supply chain links in rural areas to integrate more women-owned enterprises in their supply chains.

In this context, the project is looking for a national consultant on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Azerbaijan.

The consultant will be reporting to the Programme Specialist of UN Women and will be supported by UN Women Team in Azerbaijan and Georgia

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Promote Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) among private sector partners and business associations in Azerbaijan through multilateral and bilateral meetings.
2. Create, update and maintain the coordination work around WEPs with the engagement of WEPs focal points from private sector companies.
3. Review, revise and support implementation of internal Gender Action Plans of the WEPs signatory companies. following 3 (three) gender gap analysis with the help Gender Gap Analysis Tool available at  https://weps-gapanalysis.org/
4. Organize periodic capacity development, learning and exchange initiatives with WEPs signatories.
5. Liaise with WEPs Secretariat vis-à-vis Azerbaijani members as relevant.
6. In collaboration with UN Women communications team implement the strategic and communication plan of the WEPs community and ensure visibility of the WEPs community in the social networks.
7. Success stories written in the news format about 3 WEPs signatory companies.
8. Using the pre-designed questionnaire by UN Women, administer the annual WEPs survey to gather and analyses  information on the implementation of the WEPs by the businesses in Azerbaijan.
9. Undertake other tasks to promote WEPs as requested by UN Women in Azerbaijan.

Deliverables:

[1] All costs related to organisation of these events will be covered by UN Women.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy to be provided in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

Core Competencies: 

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 
• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 
• Stakeholder Engagement 
• Leading by Example 

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Strong knowledge and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, challenges and motivations in the private sector.
• Ability to organise and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities.
• Experience establishing, building and sustaining effective relationships with the private sector partners
• Strong networking skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in business, finance, gender, social sciences, economics, or related fields is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Experience:

• At least 2 years of relevant experience in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment, in case of Bachelor’s degree.
• At least 2 years of experience working on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the private sector would be an asset.
• Experience of coordinating networks would be an asset.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Languages:

Fluency in English and Azerbaijani is required.

How to Apply:

• Personal CV and  P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11) - https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and Motivation Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application';
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

 If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)